Am I harrassed???

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Mar 11, 2012

you're not harassed. you're getting called on some significant mistakes (the med label, the aspirin) and your senior nurse is having a really bad day. seeing you sitting down, especially with your feet up, just set her off. try to let it roll off your back (except the med errors and maybe your handwriting-- those, you fix).

if it keeps up (assuming you make no more med errors and your charting indicates hourly checks on all your patients, as you say, and you keep your feet off the chairs ) and flying below the radar isn't helpful, i'd ask the head nurse or supervisor for advice on how to deal c this person. that supervisor will have a better idea of all the issues, some of which you may not be aware.

neeke816 · Mar 11, 2012

Thank you very much for your reply. If I can talk for myself little more

ABout the label - I told the pt's nurse that the antibiotic is done, and I put NS flush in the burrett, and take off the med label whenever the flush is done, since there are some meds in the burrett, and I don't want someone put some another IV meds in that burrett before the flush is done, and that's how I learned at the school.

Asprin- It was wrong that I forgot to put "pt refused", but she didn't have any fever at that time, and I don't think it doesn't deserve a shout infront of people calling me lazy.

Anyway thank you for your opinion, have a good day.

wwwyzzy · Mar 11, 2012

This probably won't be very helpful so I apologize, but... You get nap time at work?!?! What utopia does this occur in?

Nascar nurse, ASN, RN · Mar 12, 2012

This probably won't be very helpful so I apologize, but... You get nap time at work?!?! What utopia does this occur in?

Apparently with a blanket too.

rn/writer, RN · Mar 12, 2012

In what country is this taking place? Is there a culture clash between you and this nurse?

MJB2010 · Mar 12, 2012

It was a night shift with one Chinese senior nurse, me, and a casual nurse from another unit. The Chinese seinor nurse has been working for our unit about 5 yrs and famous for her dominant personality.
She was picking up every thing I've done during the night shift.
For example,
1) she was calling me why I didn't organized pt 28's chart,and I'm not doing my job,so I told her because she is not my pt, and I've never had that pt. She never apologized at all.
2) she picked up my handwriting and telling me that my "mg" doesn't look like "mg", and it could be a big deal. I agree with her that it could be a big deal, but "mg" was the only measuring unit on that chart, so you can't be confused with "mcg" or "g" , and I don't think my "mg" wasn't too bad comparing to some other nurses' or doctors' writing.
3) A casual nurse's pt's antibiotic was done, I heared the IV was beeping, but it needed to be flushed with NS, so I put 100 ml of NS, but didn't take the medcine lable off from the burette. I just told the casual nurse that pt's antibiotic was done, and I put 100ml of NS to flush, so she could take off the label after the flush, and she said thank you. However later on, the senior nurse was shouting at me why I didn't take the label off, and it made her confused. I told her that I already talked to the pt's nurse about it, but she looked quite angry at me that I didn't tell the charge nurse about it.
4) It was napping time, and I asked the senior nurse whether she will take her break and use blanket, and she said no. So I told her that I will dump everything in the linen bag after I use it, and I did. Later on, she was shouting at me that I dumped the only blanket that we had our unit, and because of that she can't take her break. She looked really angry, so I just went to another ward and get her blanket, and she said she is too busy to take her break.
5) After I took my break, I came back to our unit, and I just sat about 3 mins, then the senior nurse was talking to me why I don't check my pts immediately when I got back to the unit. She was telling me that about one yr ago, a nurse didn't check the pt for 5hrs, and the pt got a cardiac arrest and died. I checked everyone's vital sign before I took my break, and I do check my pt at least every 1-2 hrs, so I told her so, but she was telling me that that's not good enough for her.
6) I put my feet on the chair. It was just me and her, and my legs were killing me, and she told me not to do it infront of her because it's unprofessional. I even saw other nurses taking a nap, cutting their nails, and watching movies.
7) I asked her whether she needs any help. I just tried to be nice to her, but she was "Stop asking me!! If I need help then I will tell you!!!"
Besides she never answered other pt's call but hers only, and the other nurse was new and unexperienced plus hard of hearing with her hearing aid, and she couldn't give meds by herself. So, I was running everytime whenever pts call or IV beeps. I didn't say anything, and did my best to be polite, but I couldn't hold it anymore when this happened.
8) The other casual nurse's pt was confused lady and I tried to give her scheduled aspirin but she spitted it out several times. It was 0600 and my other pts were calling me, so I asked the nurse about the pt's temp, and it was fine. So I meant to put "pt refused" on the chart, but I got busy, and she wasn't my pt, so I forgot.
About 30 mins later, pt got 38.0 fever, and the casual nurse told the senior nurse, and she was shouting at me why I don't do my job. And that was it, I couldn't hold anymore.
I gave pt's aspirin and went to a bathroom and cried, but AM staff and my manager saw me and asked me what happened.
I was emotionally and physically wiped out, so I rambled little bit, but couldn't explain it quite logically. I just told my manager that I don't mind working with that nurse and I don't have any problem with her.
I feel like I should go to my manager and explain it better. I talked to the casual nurse and she told me that she will back up me, just in case my senior nurse talk something against the truth.
Am I harrassed at work??? I just feel so terrible and incompetent, since she was shouting at me that I'm not doing my job right whenever she had a chance.

You get nap time? Are you hiring?

vanburbian · Mar 12, 2012

I am shocked- SHOCKED, I tell you- that the older nurse was Chinese. Because that has everything to do with why you're (OP) feeling harassed?

Hmmm...the fact that you mentioned her nationality leads me to believe you already have a pre conceived bias against this individual, and you are not interpreting her messages as she may mean to convey them.

And, oh I don't know- just shrug it off, acknowledge that you did indeed make several mistakes, and don't cry about it, learn from it.

Real Nurses don't cry.....

MJB2010 · Mar 12, 2012

I am shocked- SHOCKED, I tell you- that the older nurse was Chinese. Because that has everything to do with why you're (OP) feeling harassed?
Hmmm...the fact that you mentioned her nationality leads me to believe you already have a pre conceived bias against this individual, and you are not interpreting her messages as she may mean to convey them.
And, oh I don't know- just shrug it off, acknowledge that you did indeed make several mistakes, and don't cry about it, learn from it.
Real Nurses don't cry.....

Yes they do.

wwwyzzy · Mar 12, 2012

I assure you Real Nurses do cry . . .

dirtyhippiegirl, BSN, RN · Mar 12, 2012

I don't think this happened in America.

However, napping time is definitely something that I could get behind.

NO50FRANNY · Mar 12, 2012

Ok, here goes.

I don't think you are being harrassed at all, and I totally agree with GrnTeas'comments. You are being pulled up on practices that are unsafe or not up to standard. Why do you mention the nationality of your superior? I don't understand why this has any relevance. Secondly, you need to see every one of your patients breathing every hour, no ifs, buts or maybes (this is a nationwide standard in Australia). The story that your boss told you happens all the time, and I promise you, if you haven't checked on your patient for 2 hours and the next time you see them they are dead, you will never forgive yourself. Vital signs change within seconds, it doesn't matter if they were good two hours ago. The only change to this frequency is MORE often. I agree that the first thing you should have done when you returned from your napping, was check on your patients, putting your feet up in front of your nurse in charge, before you see your patients is, I am sorry to say, unprofessional and I am not surprised that she was cross with you. I know this sounds harsh but if I were in charge I would frown upon this too.

It doesn't matter about anybody elses handwriting, if someone can't understand yours, fix it- I don't understand how mg can be the only possible measurement on a drug chart, and there can be no assumptions when reading a drug order. Regarding the flush in the burette, it only needs to be 30mls and the drug label should come off when the drug has run through, the flush should not have a drug label on it, the flush should only be programmed for that 30mls, this way there is no confusion as to whether drugs remain in the burette (it will be a different rate to maintenance fluids). The patient may receive too much fluid too quickly if you flush 100mls at the same rate as the drug was given (especially if it is 6hrly). I have never been in the habit of speaking to someone about mistakes in front of patients or other nurses, so I really do understand why you are upset but I think you need to focus on the important clinical errors here. Not documenting the aspirin is also a big deal, you can't just "forget". Whether the patient has a fever or not doesn't really matter, the aspirin might be for something else, you needed to tell someone that she didn't have it. What if the aspirin was a different drug, like an immunosuppressant for a bone marrow transplant patient? If they didn't take it and no-one knew, it could be catastrophic.

I know I probably sound harsh but I just want you to see it from a senior nurses point of view. Stop focussing on what everybody else is doing and look after your patients. Who cares if the other nurses are doing their nails? Who cares if your fellow nurses will only get their own buzzers? It isn't your problem. Focus on your patients and you will be fine. I know it's hard when you think you are doing everything wrong, but the only way to win is to do everything right! There are nurses that you will work with who you will have to prove yourself to, it's just that simple and there is no way around it, so earn their respect by being a great nurse!